• The donation got here because the billionaire offered $16.4 billion value of shares.
• Musk additionally  traded barbs with politicians like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
• Analysts say there can be a tax profit for Musk probably gifting Tesla stock to charity.

SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla chief govt Elon Musk donated a complete of 5,044,000 shares in the world’s most useful automaker to a charity from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29 final 12 months, its submitting with the U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) confirmed on Monday.

The donation was value $5.74 billion, primarily based on the closing costs of Tesla shares on the 5 days that he donated the stock. The submitting didn’t disclose the identify of the charity.

The donation got here because the billionaire offered $16.4 billion value of shares after polling Twitter customers about offloading 10% of his stake in the electric-car maker in early November.

He mentioned on Twitter that he would pay greater than $11 billion in taxes in 2021 due to his train of stock choices set to expire this 12 months.

He additionally traded barbs with politicians like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who known as on rich folks to pay extra taxes.

Analysts have mentioned there can be a tax profit for Musk probably gifting Tesla stock to charity, since shares donated to charity will not be topic to capital good points tax, as they might be if offered.

“His tax benefit would be huge,” mentioned Bob Lord, an affiliate fellow on the Institute for Coverage Research who research tax coverage.

“He’d save between 40% and 50% of the $5.7 billion in tax, depending on whether he could take the deduction against his California income and he’d avoid the gains tax he would have to pay if he sold the stock.”

Lord added that Musk might need contributed the stock to intermediaries equivalent to “donor-advised funds,” not outright to charitable teams.

Tesla was not instantly out there for remark.

MUSK FOUNDATION

The donation ranks Musk as America’s second-biggest donor after Invoice Gates and Melinda French Gates final 12 months, information from the Chronicle of Philanthropy reveals.

Musk’s public philanthropic gestures have to this point trailed different billionaires. In accordance to enterprise journal Forbes, Musk and Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos have donated lower than 1% of their internet value, whereas Warren Buffett and George Soros had given away greater than 20% by early September, in accordance to Forbes.

Musk is president of the Musk Basis, which presents grants for the “development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity,” amongst different causes, in accordance to its web site.

Final 12 months, Musk and the muse supplied $100 million in prizes to those that might give you a know-how to assist take away carbon from the environment.

Final 12 months, he mentioned he was donating $20 million to faculties in Cameron County, Texas, the placement of a Area X rocket launch website, and $10 million to the Metropolis of Brownsville.

Musk has additionally flirted with extra formidable philanthropic targets.

On Twitter final 12 months, he mentioned, “If (the United Nations World Food Programme) can describe exactly how $6 billion will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it.”

He was responding to a plea for a donation from David Beasley, the chief director of the World Meals Programme.

In January final 12 months, he requested Twitter customers about “ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems.)”